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Yankees re-signed C Erik Kratz to a minor league contract.

Kratz elected to become a free agent in early November after being outrighted off the Yankees' 40-man roster, but the 37-year-old catcher has decided to begin the 2018 season back in pinstripes. A career .203/.250/.366 hitter, he appeared in only four games at the major league level with New York in 2017. Wed, Dec 13, 2017 12:34:00 AM

Kratz chose to test the open market in lieu of an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 37-year-old catcher appeared in just four games at the major league level in 2017, all in the final month. Thu, Nov 2, 2017 11:09:00 AM

Kratz hasn't appeared in a major league game this year, but he was sporting a decent .270/.359/.472 batting line with 13 home runs through 86 games this season at Triple-A Columbus. The 37-year-old catcher can help fill in behind the plate for the Yankees when Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine serve their suspension for last week's brawl in Detroit. Thu, Aug 31, 2017 12:36:00 PM

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Kratz chose to test the open market in lieu of an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 37-year-old catcher appeared in just four games at the major league level in 2017, all in the final month.

Kratz hasn't appeared in a major league game this year, but he was sporting a decent .270/.359/.472 batting line with 13 home runs through 86 games this season at Triple-A Columbus. The 37-year-old catcher can help fill in behind the plate for the Yankees when Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine serve their suspension for last week's brawl in Detroit.

Blue Jays signed C Erik Kratz to a minor league contract; assigned him to Triple-A Buffalo.

Kratz was designated for assignment by the Pirates on July 19 and elected to become a free agent a few days alter. He was 6-for-56 (.107) in Pittsburgh and is no more than a depth signing for the Blue Jays.

In a game that featured 11 hits combined, it was the 36-year-old journeyman catcher who homered off all-everything ace Madison Bumgarner to lead the Bucs to victory. The homer was Kratz' first of the season -- his first since 2014, in fact -- and just his third hit in 47 at-bats. He'll continue to get some run with the Pirates while Francisco Cervelli is out, but Kratz isn't a big league starting catcher at this point.

Kratz will function as the primary backup to Chris Stewart while Francisco Cervelli is sidelined with a broken hand. Stewart (ankle) also has an injury of his own. Kratz, 35, hit just .067/.097/.100 with a 14/1 K/BB ratio in 31 plate appearances with the Astros earlier this season and can go on being ignored in standard fantasy leagues.

Kratz was designated for assignment by the Astros on May 16 and subsequently released. The veteran catcher is a .210/.261/.381 career hitter at the big league level. He will report to Triple-A Salt Lake.

The Astros brought in Kratz via a trade in late February. The 35-year-old backstop saw 30 plate appearances with the major league club this season, managing just a single and a double in that space. With a career triple-slash of .210/.261/.381 in the bigs, Kratz could easily slide through waivers unclaimed.

Kratz will presumably serve as a backup to Jason Castro until Max Stassi is ready to return from hamate bone surgery. The 35-year-old is a .218/.270/.397 hitter in the majors, so don't expect any fantasy value here.

Padres signed C Erik Kratz to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

It's not a great landing spot, as the Padres already have Derek Norris, Austin Hedges and Christian Bethancourt on the roster (although they seem likely to trade one of the first two players). Kratz hit just .192/.214/.269 in 16 games in the majors in 2015 and will be around for depth.